Process for producing ceramic circuit structures having conductive vias

ABSTRACT

Improved vie-filling compositions for producing conductive vias in circuitized ceramic substrates, particularly multi-layer substrates, without cracking and/or loss of hermetic sealing. The via-filling compositions comprise pastes containing a mixture of (a) ceramic and/or glass spheres of substantially- uniform diameter between about 0.5 and 6 μm, (b) conductive metal particles or spheres having a maximum dimension or diameter between about 1/3 and 1/4 of the diameter of the ceramic and/or glass spheres, and (c) a binder vehicle. The formed conductive via bodies comprise a uniform conductive skeletal network of sintered metal particles densely packed within a uniform matrix of the co-sintered ceramic and/or glass spheres, which matrix is hermetically fused and integrated with ceramic layers forming the wall of the via in the ceramic circuit substrate.

This is a continuation of copending application(s) Ser. No. 07/672,272, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,104 issued Feb. 1, 1994 filed on Mar. 20, 1991.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to improvements in conductive vias of ceramic packaging substrates. More particularly, the present invention relates to improvements in multi-layer ceramic packaging substrates or bodies having vertical conductive vias which provide surface electrical interconnection with one or more internal printed circuits insulated between dielectric layers of the substrate or body.

Multilayered circuitized ceramic substrates contain via-connected patterned metal layers which act as electrical conductors sandwiched between ceramic layers which act as electrical insulators. These ceramic substrates are formed by providing thin green (meaning unfired) dielectric ceramic sheets of glass particles or an admixture of glass and crystalline particles mixed with binders, with vertical via through-holes, filling such holes with conductive via-fill composition, and printing surfaces of such dielectric sheets with patterns or circuits of conductive ink containing metal particles for forming conductors between the ceramic greensheets. Said patterned and personalized greensheets are aligned, stacked in proper sequence, and then laminated with heat and pressure to form multilayer laminates. This green laminate is fired to burn off the binder materials, and to sinter the ceramic and metallic particulates into dense conductive wiring and insulating dielectric. Terms such as ceramic and glass-ceramic are often used interchangeably in the art. To avoid confusion for the purpose of this application the following definitions will be used.

The term ceramic means an aggregate of randomly oriented crystalline particles, with interstices that may contain uncrystallized material such as glass or pores of void space. The terms coalescence or densification refer to a heat treatment to reduce the number and size of the pores in greensheets during processing. The term crystallization refers to the conversion of glass to crystallites upon further heating, preferably after coalescence or densification. The term sintering refers to the heat treatment required to densify the final ceramic. The term sinrating temperature means, for a laminate not requiring crystallization, the coalescence temperature. Substrates made of ceramics requiring very high temperatures for particle coalescence and densification, such as alumina, restrict the choice of cosinterable conducting metallurgies to high melting point metals, for example refractory metals, such as molybdenum, tungsten, platinum, palladium or a combination of these with each other or certain other metals and preclude the use of preferable electrical conductors such as gold, silver and copper which have melting points less than the alumina sintering temperature. Alumina is a good insulator, has high thermal conductivity and has good strength. The dielectric constant of alumina is high, about 10, and results in slow electric signal propagation in circuits supported by the alumina.

Materials often referred to as glass-ceramics have been intensively studied in recent years for use as circuit substrates. These ceramics generally have a low dielectric constant, a low thermal coefficient of expansion which is close in value to silicon, and a low sintering temperature. The low sintering temperature permits the use of low melting point metals, such as copper and certain noble metals, for electrical conductors. The noble metals gold and silver have low resistivities comparable to that of copper. However, copper is less expensive and, therefore, its use substantially reduces manufacturing cost. When an oxidizable metal, such as copper, silver, molybdenum, etc., is used as the electrical conductor, it is necessary that thermoplastic organic binder materials contained within the green sheet used to form the ceramic and contained within the paste used to form the conductors be depolymerized and burned out in an atmosphere and at a temperature wherein the metal is not substantially oxidized.

Failure to burn out binders results in less than desirable ceramic properties. For example, if the binder is not fully burned out, residual carbon left in the sintered ceramic modifies the ceramic dielectric constant and inhibits complete densification. With as little as 0.1% residual carbon content the ceramic may be black, having an apparent dielectric constant greater than 1000 and, rather than being an insulator, the fired ceramic will be conductive and lossy. An at least partially oxidizing atmosphere is generally needed to burn out the binder.

Removal of the binder is complicated by the additional requirement that the burn-out ambient not excessively oxidize the oxidizable metal lines and planes. If the metal is excessively oxidized, the metal oxide can diffuse into the ceramic and change the dielectric properties of the ceramic. Also, when metal is excessively oxidized it expands causing stress within the laminate which can result in cracking of the laminate in the area of the via holes.

An additional complication is cracking, which can initiate on cooling due to the significant difference in thermal expansion coefficients (TCE) for conductors, such as copper, and glass-ceramics. In earlier molybdenum/alumina multilayer ceramics, this problem was obviated because the TCE values of the conductor and ceramic were similar. The contraction of the metal-bearing paste in the via areas causes separation from the dielectric layers and loss of the hermetic seal which is necessary to prevent porosity and leakage that allow the intrusion of post-sintering process chemicals and ambient moisture.

Description of the Prior Art

Reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,547,625 and 4,598,167 for their disclosures and illustration of multilayer ceramic packaging substrates or bodies having a plurality of surface-exposed vertical conductive vias to provide interconnection between conductive areas of surface-mounted chips and different electrically-conductive line patterns or circuits printed between different dielectric layers of the structure. The ceramic compositions of these patents are low temperature softening borosilicate glasses, and the via compositions comprise a major percent by weight of conductive metal powder, i.e., between about 70% and 95% by weight copper, and a minor percent by weight of the low temperature softening glass, in order to provide bodies in which the difference between the coefficient of thermal expansion of the via composition and that of the ceramic layer composition is less than 100×10⁻⁷ /° C. The objective is to produce bodies which do not crack ill the via areas when tile bodies are fired and thermally-cycled.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,098,949; 4,301,324 and 4,594,181 also disclose multilayer circuit bodies containing conductive compositions. The compositions of U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,949 are pastes containing 50-88% by weight of metal powder, 2-40% by weight of ground glass frit of silicon dioxide and other oxides, and 5-48% by weight of liquid vehicle. The glass frit is a mixture of particles up to 325-mesh (45μm) size and the metal powder is 200-mesh (75μm) size or smaller.

The conductive compositions of U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,324 are pastes of conductive metal powders which are extruded into the via holes of glass/ceramic layers which contain crystalline phases and which produce glass/ceramic bodies having a very stable thermal expansion coefficient over a wide sintering temperature range. The addition of suitable glass frits to the metal powder paste is suggested to enhance tile bonding between the metal and tile glass/ceramic of the dielectric circuit body.

The conductive compositions of Patent 4,594,181 comprise conductive metal particles coated with certain oxides in order to modify their sintering and shrinkage properties to more closely match those of the green ceramic composition used to form the dielectric layers of the body. Copper particles or spheres having all average particle size between 0.5 and 20μm are disclosed. A process for sintering a metal member bonded to a substrate of U.S. Pat. No. 4,599,277 utilizes an organometallic compound to cause the densification temperature of the metal to be closer to that of the substrate, thereby obviating unwanted differential shrinkage rates.

The ceramic/glass dielectric compositions of U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,324, discussed above, and tile processes for producing multilayer interconnected thick film circuit patterns therefrom are suitable for use according to the present invention, and therefore the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,324 is hereby incorporated herein by reference thereto. The present invention represents an improvement over said patent with respect to the substitution of the novel conductive metal paste compositions ill place of those disclosed by said Patent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Surprisingly, applicants have discovered that by controlling the composition, constituent particle size, shape, and distribution of the conductive via paste composition, this cracking and loss of hermeticity ill the via interface region between the metal and ceramic body can be eliminated.

The present invention relates to improved multilayer glass-ceramic substrates or bodies containing interleaved circuit patterns which are interconnected to a surface of the substrate or body by means of vertical via conductors formed in-situ in via through-holes through the dielectric layers. The invention is characterized by the discovery of novel via-fill compositions which are co-sinterable with the composition of the dielectric layers, when the multilayer substrate or body is fired, and which integrate with and hermetically seal to the dielectric layers in the areas of the via passages therethrough. The present via-fill compositions have temperature coefficients of expansion and physical characteristics which avoid cracking of the dielectric layers, substrate or body, in the areas of the via holes, during firing and thermal cycling, and preclude separation and loss of seal and hermeticity during sintering or contraction.

The present via-fill compositions are composite compositions containing (a) a major amount by volume of glass-ceramic spherical particles having a relatively uniform size with a maximum diameter equal to about 10% of the diameter of the via holes to be filled therewith, and (b) a minor amount by volume of smaller particles of a conductive metal or metal alloy, preferably having a minimum surface-to-volume ratio and most preferably being spherical to control the sintering and shrinkage of both phases. The term sphere means a generally equiaxed or equidimensional shape and may include equiaxed shapes with multiple flat surfaces. The via-fill compositions are present in a flowable liquid paste containing a binder material, preferably a resinous binder material which is similar to the resinous binder material of the dielectric layer composition so as to burn off therewith during the firing of the multilayer substrate or body. The binder material, e.g., a solution of a polymer such as polyvinyl butyral in a volatile solvent, is present in sufficient amount to produce a paste of the metal and ceramic-glass particles capable of flowing into and filling the via holes. Generally the paste composition comprises about 15% to 25% by weight of the organic binder system, preferably about 20% by weight (50% by volume), to provide the necessary viscosity and flow properties for filling the via holes.

The present composite via-fill compositions also preferably include a small amount of a sol-gel colloid material, preferably an aluminum compound such as alumina (Al₂ O₃), which, although not completely understood, is believed to alter the surface activity of the conductive metal, such as copper. The colloid inhibits the Cu surface energy from pulling the minor Cu phase into isolated spheres, thus preserving the metal phase connectedness during sintering. The amount of the aluminum compound is wi thin the range of about 300 to 2000 ppm of the paste composition, and roughly follows the practice taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,599,277.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The glass-ceramic compositions of the present invention preferably are similar to the glass-ceramic composition of the dielectric layers of the host body. Preferred glass-ceramic compositions have a low sintering temperature, below about 1000° C. and a low thermal coefficient of expansion (TCE), similar to silicon which has a TCE of 35×10⁻⁷ /° C. This is advantageous in the case of multilayer ceramic (MLC) substrates for surface-mounted electronic packaging devices which generally comprise silicon chips. Matched TCE properties are desirable to avoid chip separation due to different thermal expansion and contraction upon heating and cooling. Preferred glass-ceramic compositions in this respect are the cordierite glass compositions, optionally containing from 1 to 10% by volume of lower melting temperature non-cordierite glass, such glass-ceramic compositions being disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,324, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Spodumenetype glass, and others related to cordierite, also may serve as base glasses.

Low sintering temperatures, below about 1000° C. and above about 850° C., are important to the process of tile present invention, in cases where the preferred ceramic-glass compositions are used, since it is critical that the present composite via paste compositions co-sinter with the host body during firing thereof, and that the Cu conductor phase not melt. Such co-sintering or densification by tile simultaneous coalescence of the glass-ceramic particles of the via composition and of the dielectric layers of the host body eliminates the formation of pores and cracks at the via hole interface and, in fact, eliminates the formation of a sharp interface by particle-particle integration of the via composition and the dielectric layers surrounding the via holes. Such integration, during the firing of the dielectric body, and co-sintering result in a hermetic seal between the via composition and the dielectric body in the areas of the via holes, which hermetic seal is retained as both materials shrink simultaneously and to similar extents. This is particularly true in cases where tile glass-ceramic compositions of the via paste and the dielectric layers are identical, and where the via paste composition contains the largest possible amount of the glass-ceramic ingredients, i.e., 60% to about 75% by volume.

Substantial differentials between the TCE properties of the via paste composition and the dielectric layer composition can cause cracking of the dielectric body in the area of the via holes during firing of the dielectric body and/or excessive shrinking and separation of tile via conductors from the dielectric body in the areas of the via holes during sintering and cooling, resulting in loss of hermeticity, leakage and strength.

The co-sintering temperature must be below the liquidus temperature of the glass-ceramic composition, which is about 1350° C. for the preferred glass-ceramic composition of the present invention, and co-sintering must be completed below its crystallization temperature, which is usually 900 to 950° C.

As mentioned supra, the incorporation of Al₂ O₃, as a sol-gel, to the present via pastes maximizes conduction and minimizes the TCE of tile formed via conductors by retarding premature densification of the metal network. This assists the formation of via conductors comprising a continuous interpenetrating skeletal network of the metal component embedded in glass-ceramic matrix. While the preferred Cu metal has a much higher TCE than the glass-ceramic composition, the composite TCE of the via conductor is substantially lower than that of the metal, per se, because the metal is contained therein in the form of an irregular, but continuous dense network, the expansion and contraction of which is absorbed and minimized by the glass-ceramic matrix within which it is encased.

Aside from the foregoing requirements, the present composite via paste compositions have certain rheological properties which have been found necessary to the formation of the continuous, dense via conductors in host bodies. Since glass-ceramic compositions have high resistive properties, and since metal particles do not form a conductive circuit unless they are in conductive contact with each other, it is necessary that the present via paste compositions are capable of flowing into and filling small via holes, and are capable of forming a surface-exposed continuous conductive metal network with the conductive lines or circuits insulated between the dielectric layers, but exposed at the via holes.

The present paste compositions preferably contain ceramic-glass particles and conductive metal particles which are both in the form of spheres. The glass-ceramic spheres are of larger, relatively uniform size so as to form a via fill which, before cosintering, comprises porous or permeable structure of contacting ceramic-glass spheres, with uniform intersticies or spaces present between tile contacting surface of tile glass-ceramic spheres being completely filled with smaller metal particles or spheres when the paste is deposited in the via holes. These uniform spaces are necessary in order for the smaller metal particles or spheres to permeate throughout the via paste deposited in the vias prior to or during burn-off of tile organic binder, so that the conductive metal particles extend throughout the via composition in contacting relationship with each other, surrounded by the larger glass-ceramic particles during cosintering. If the sizes of via and host glass particles are too disparate, they will not co-sinter. It is also known that jagged, irregular particles sinter faster than spheres of comparable size.

The glass-ceramic particles should be relatively uniform in size, with an average size dependent upon the size of the vias to be filled and the host dielectric glass particle size. The maximum average size preferably is no greater than about 10% of the diameter of tile vias to be filled, e.g., about 61μm for vias having a diameter of 60μm or less. Preferably such uniform-sized glass-ceramic particles contain no more than about 10% by weight of particles which are substantially greater or substantially smaller than the average size. The reason is that the smaller size glass-ceramic spheres can flow into and plug or reduce the size of the spaces between the larger spheres, and block the penetration of the metal particles or spheres, thereby reducing the conductivity and increasing the resistivity of the formed composite via conductors. Similarly, even a fraction of excessively large glass-ceramic spheres can form rigid blockages during firing and co-sintering, thereby hindering uniform shrinkage and of ten resulting in firing cracks.

The uniform sized glass-ceramic spheres preferably are formed according to known plasma spray techniques, such as the use of a hydrogen-argon plasma in a commercially available apparatus. Such spheres have a smooth glazed surface which facilitates dense compaction, as compared to the jagged particles with relatively rough coarse surface of ball-milled powders or frits, and which spheres facilitate the slippage of the smaller particle metal powders, preferably spheres that can be formed in the same manner as the glass-ceramic spheres, throughout the spaces between contacting surfaces of the latter within the via holes.

Earlier work (see for example R. P. Kusy in Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 48, pages 5301 to 5305, 1977) on conducting composites, of polymer and metal, containing a small volume fraction of conductor has emphasized the need for large polymer/metal particle radius ratios to promote electrical continuity. The large radius ratios are thought to promote continuity by having the small particles coat the surfaces of the large particles, not filling the voids. Large radius ratios on the order of 30:1 are thought to be most advantageous. Applicants are proposing that much smaller radius ratios in fact offer considerable advantage by promoting efficient packing that allows maximum densification and less unwanted porosity in final products. The ideal radius ratio for a sphere that will just fill the interstitial hole at the center of four tetrahedrally coordinated spheres is 0.225. Because tetrahedral sites are the dominant type of site ill random close packed structures, enhanced packing is achieved when the ratio of the particle diameters is approximately this value. The metal particles or spheres need not be uniform minimize, but must always be smaller than the glass spheres and, should have an average diameter less than about 1/4 the average diameter of the glass-ceramic particles. In compositions containing the ideal maximum volume ratio of uniformly sized glass-ceramic spheres to metal particles or spheres, the ratio of diameters is about 3:1, producing a tetrahedral close-packed alignment of the glass spheres, with the metal phase totally occupying the interstitial space between glass spheres. Thus if 6 μm glass spheres are used in such ratio, the maximum metal particle or sphere diameter should be 1.35 μm. The maximum diameter of the metal particles of spheres, relative to the glass-ceramic spheres, may be larger in paste compositions containing a smaller ratio of glass to metal since the glass-to-glass sphere intersticies are larger, e.g., less than about 1/3 the diameter of the glass spheres in compositions containing the minimum ratio of glass to metal spheres, i.e., about 2:1.

Since the via holes generally have diameters between about 50 μm and 150 μm, and since the maximum size particles have a maximum diameter equal to about 1/10 the diameter of the via holes being filled with the particular via paste, the determination of the appropriate sizes of the glass-ceramic spheres and of tile metal particles or spheres will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure. It will also be apparent that while the glass-ceramic spheres must be substantially uniform in size in order to provide a glass-ceramic network having uniform openings for penetration by the metal particles or spheres, the latter preferably include a mixture of particles of spheres including those having diameters well below tile maximum permissible diameter in order to facilitate penetration of the metal particles or spheres throughout the depth of the glass sphere via-fill to fill all of tile spaces or voids therein prior to co-sintering.

The inclusion of a small amount of aluminum sol gel, such as Al₂ O₃, and a small amount of a wetting agent, such as 2-ethylhexanoate, improves the "connectedness" between the metal and glass spheres during co-sintering, thereby preventing the metal particles from coalescing into disconnected spheres. Instead, the co-sintering sphere surfaces wet and yield to each other to form a connected irregular skeletal network of metal having high conductivity, contained within the glass-ceramic matrix. The metal network is free of dense metal deposits since it is confined within the small intersticies present between contacting surfaces of the glass spheres prior to co-sintering. Thus the normally-high TCE of the metal is minimized by tile absence of large metal deposits, and the stresses from expansion and shrinkage of the skeletal metal network are absorbed or distributed in the glass-ceramic matrix so as to prevent cracking of the surrounding dielectric layer wall of the via during expansion, and prevent shrink-away therefrom and disruption of the hermetic seal therebetween during cosintering. Cosintering is important between the glass spheres and the dielectric layer glass-ceramic in order to "freeze" the skeletal metal network within the glass-ceramic matrix and prevent layering or migration of either component relative to the other, and in order to fuse the glass-ceramic matrix to the glass-ceramic of the dielectric layers and form a hermetic integration therebetween, free of ally sharp interface.

The present multilayer ceramic circuit substrates containing vias can be produced according to the procedure outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,324, i.e., thin dielectric green sheets are cast, blanked with via holes having predetermined diameters and spacing, and the via holes are filled with the present via-fill paste by screen printing methods. The via-filled dielectric sheets are then surface printed with the required thin conductive circuit patterns which extend over the filled vias to produce the necessary connections therewith. The conductive circuit patterns also can be printed onto the dielectric green sheets with the present via paste compositions, but preferably they are printed with conventional conductive metal particle inks which do not contain any glass-ceramic component for internal interlayer lines. On external surfaces, such as the MLC external surfaces, the present via paste would be preferred for circuit patterns and interconnections.

The filled and printed dielectric strips or layers are then laminated in conventional manner to form multilayer green substrates or bodies which are fired in conventional manner. For example, the multilayer assembly is heated gradually to a first burn-off temperature and held at that temperature for about 30 hours in a steam and/or moist N₂ atmosphere to effect burn-off of the organic binder material as, for example, taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,367. J.F. Elliot (in Metallurgical Trans. vol. 7B, 17-33, 1976) and M. Wittmer (in Electronic Packaging Materials Science, vol. 40, pages 393-8, Materials Res. Soc. Symposium Proc. 1985) have described the relevant thermodynamic relationships for copper, oxygen and oxide ceramic systems.

Then the temperature is increased gradually to a point above the glass transition temperature, held at that temperature for a period of time, and finally furnace cooled. Cosintering occurs above tile glass transition temperature, where glass mass migration and viscous flow begin. The metal particles or spheres co-sinter with the glass-ceramic and densify therewith by coalescence, co-wetting and filling any voids or pores in the via-fill and at tile hole interface with tile dielectric layers.

While the preferred metals for use ill the present via pastes are copper, silver and gold, which co-sinter at about the same temperature as the glass-ceramic spheres and have tile lowest resistivities, it is also possible to use other metals and metal alloys which also co-sinter at similar temperatures but have lower TCE properties than copper. Representative alloys are Super Nilvat (Fe-31Ni-(4-6)Co alloy, (36-37)Fe-(53-55)Co-(9-10)Cr,37Fe-30Ni-25Co-8Cr, and copper-beryllium alloys having up to substantially 2% Be by weight.

Super Nilvar alloy has a zero coefficient of expansion (TCE), and the other listed iron-cobalt alloys have exceptionally-low thermal coefficients of expansion, lower than the glass ceramic and much lower than copper and other non-resistive metals. Therefore it is possible to formulate mixtures of these iron-cobalt alloys with predetermined amounts of copper or other metals to produce a metal particle or sphere having a TCE which is closely matched to that of tile glass-ceramic spheres and glass ceramic layers with which it is used. Moreover tile presence of chromium in some of these alloys may increase the adhesion or connectedness of tile formed metal network for the glass ceramic.

Tile copper-beryllium alloys also offer TCE advantages over the use of copper alone since beryllium has a substantially lower TCE than copper. Thus alloys of copper and 2% beryllium have a TCE of 7×10⁻⁶, per degree centigrade which is about 50% of the TCE of copper which is 15×10.sup.⁶ per degree centigrade. Thus the amount of beryllium alloyed with the copper can be varied to produce an overall TCE which is closely matched to that of the glass ceramic.

The following examples illustrate specific via-fill paste compositions according to the present invention.

EXAMPLE 1

Cordierite glass spheres comprising 55 wt% SiO₂, 20 wt% MgO, 21 wt% Al₂ O₃, 3 wt% P₂ O₅ and 1wt% B₂ O₃ are fired and sintered at a temperature below the glass melting temperature of about 1320° C. but above the crystallization temperature of 9450° C. to produce a glass frit which is ground to a fine glass powder which has a 3-4 μm average size with 90% by weight of the spheres being less than 9 μm in and 90% by weight being greater than 0.7μm in diameter.

The glass powder is spheroidized in a conventional plasma arc spraying device which melts the glass particles and sprays them into a stainless steel catch basin in predetermined, relatively uniform sphere sizes. A preferred uniform sphere size corresponds to the particle sizes of the glass powder used, with no spheres being formed having a diameter greater than 20 μm. Thereafter the glass spheres are sized by screening or by air or liquid classification to remove substantially all spheres greater than about 5μm in diameter and substantially all spheres less than about 3μm in diameter.

The metal powder, comprising pure copper, is spheroidized in similar manner, using copper powder having an average particle size less than about 1 μm to produce smooth copper spheres having an average diameter of about 0.7 μm. The spheroidized copper is sized to remove any larger sized spheres, and the smaller copper spheres are retained.

A paste is formed of a mixture of from 40 to 85 vol% of the glass-ceramic spheres with from 60 to 15 vol% of the metal spheres and 1000ppm colloidal Al₂ O₃, which is dispersed in from 15 to 25by weight of an organic resin binder system such as a solution of ethyl cellulose in a volatile solvent such as an ester alcohol.

The multilayered substrate fabrication process for the structures of the present invention, according to a preferred embodiment, involves the following illustrative basic steps:

STEP 1

The cullet of the chosen crystallizable cordierite-type glass disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,324 to Kumar et al. is ground to average particle sizes in the range of 2 to 7 micrometers. Spodumene-type glass, and others related to cordierite, could serve as base glasses also. The grinding can be done in two steps, a preliminary dry or wet grinding to 400 mesh (37 μm) particle size followed by further grinding with suitable organic binders and solvents until the average particle size is reduced to lie between 2 to 7 μm and a castable slurry or slip is obtained. A single stage prolonged grinding of the cullet in the medium of the binder and solvent, until the desired particles sizes are obtained, can be used. In the latter case, a filtering step may be necessary to remove oversized particles.

By way of example, a suitable binder is polyvinylbutyral resin with a plasticizer such as dipropylenegycol-dibenzoate (e.g. the commercial Benzoflex plasticizer of the Tennessee Products and Chemical Corp.). Other suitable polymers are polyvinyl acetate, selected ones of the acrylic resins, and the like. Similarly other suitable plasticizers such as dioctylphthalate, dibutylphthalate, and the like, can also be used. The purpose of adding an easily evapotable solvent is (1) to initially dissolve the binder so as to enable it to coat the individual glass particles, and (2) to adjust the theology of the slip of slurry for good castability.

Particularly effective solvents for the purpose of this example are the dual solvent systems of U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,245; specifically the dual methanol/methyl isobutylketone (in a 5/8 weight ratio) solvent system.

STEP 2

The slip or slurry prepared as in Step 1 is cast, in accordance with conventional techniques, into thin greensheets (e.g. about 75-250 μm (3-10 mils thick)), preferably by doctor-blading techniques.

STEP 3

The cast sheets are blanked to the required dimensions and via holes are punched through them in the required configuration.

STEP 4

A composite metal/glass-ceramic sphere paste composition is produced according to Example 1 and comprises:

    ______________________________________                                         Ingredients       % by weight                                                  ______________________________________                                         copper spheres (1-2 μm)                                                                       53.0                                                         glass spheres (3-5 μm)                                                                        28.3                                                         Al.sub.2 O.sub.3  1000 ppm                                                     ethyl cellulose    1.7                                                         wetting agent      0.5                                                         ester alcohol     16.5                                                                           100.00                                                       ______________________________________                                    

an alternate conducting composite via paste is:

    ______________________________________                                         Ingredients         % by weight                                                ______________________________________                                         copper powder (1.35 μm)                                                                         56.70                                                      glass spheres (6 μm)                                                                            25.00                                                      Al.sub.2 O.sub.3    1000 ppm                                                   ethyl cellulose      1.58                                                      2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol                                                                    16.30                                                      monoisobutyrate                                                                wetting agent        0.42                                                                          100.00                                                     ______________________________________                                    

The paste is extruded or screened into the via holes in the individual green dielectric sheets.

STEP 5

A suitable conventional copper paste or ink is then screenprinted onto the individual green sheets of Step 4, in the required conductor patterns.

STEP 6

A plurality of sheets, prepared as in Step 5, are laminated together in registry in a laminating press.

The temperature and pressure employed for lamination should be such as to cause (1) the individual green sheets to bond to each other to yield a monolithic green substrate, and (2) to cause the green sheet to sufficiently flow and enclose the conductor patterns.

STEP 7

Firing of the laminate to the sintering temperatures is undertaken to accomplish binder removal, densification or coalescence of the glass particles, and conversions to a glass-ceramic by crystallization with concurrent sintering of the glass ceramic spheres and the metal particles, in the conductor patterns, vias and individual green sheets.

In a typical firing schedule, the green laminate is heated at a rate of 2° C./min. in N₂ to a hold temperature of approximately 750° C. The laminate is held, preferably in moist nitrogen, at this temperature for about 15 hours to burn off the binder. The N₂. ambient is maintained, at which point the heating temperature is again elevated at a rate of 2° C./min. to a hold temperature of about 965° C., which temperature is held for about 3 hours, after which the structure is furnace cooled.

Co-sintering occurs above the glass transition temperature of about 780° C., and causes the via-fill glass and metal spheres to stabilize as a conductive metal skeletal network dispersed ill the glass-ceramic matrix which integrates with the glass-ceramic of tile dielectric layers to form a hermetic seal therewith.

In summary, applicants have discovered that separations between metal via bodies embedded within ceramic substrate bodies can be avoided by the creation of an integrated interface region between a ceramic matrix containing the metal network of tile via body and tile ceramic of tile substrate body wherein tile interface region is a combination of the ceramic compound of the via composition and tile ceramic of the insulating or dielectric layers of the substrate body which are cosintered during firing. The ceramic of the conductor composition has a TCE which approximates or is tile same as tile TCE of the ceramic substrate, and tile skeletal structure and/or composition of the conductive metal minimizes or eliminates the expansion differentials between the metal and ceramic materials. Furthermore, the interface region is cosintered, integrated and hermetic. This method produces structures which have a variety of uses; in particular uses as electronic device packaging substrates having embedded conductors which are substantially hermetically isolated from the external environment and substantially free of spaces or voids about conductors.

While tile invention has been illustrated and described with respective preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to tile precise constructions that were disclosed; tile right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming wi thin the scope of the invention as defined herein and in the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for producing a ceramic circuit structure comprising the steps of:(a) forming at least one self-supporting layer of dielectric glass-ceramic composition having a low sintering temperature, below 1000° C.; (b) forming at least one via in at least one of said layers; (c) filing said via with a via-fill composition comprising a mixture of a major amount by volume of contacting spheres of a glass-ceramic material similar in composition to the glass-ceramic composition of said self-supporting layer, said spheres having a substantially uniform average diameter which is less than about 10% of the diameter of said via, said spheres having a diameter which is between about 0.5 μm and 6 μm, and a minor amount by volume of particles of a low-resistive metal which have a maximum size less than about 1/3 the diameter of said glass-ceramic spheres and which fill the spaces between said contacting spheres and which have a melting temperature above the sintering temperature of said glass-ceramic composition; and (d) heating the structure resulting after step (c) to a temperature above the glass transition temperature of the glass-ceramic composition of said at least one layer and of said spheres but below about 1000° C., to cosinter said glass-ceramic spheres, said metal particles and said at least one glass-ceramic layer to form a ceramic circuit structure in which each via is filled with a conductive via body comprising a major amount by volume of said glass-ceramic composition which is integrated with and hermetically sealed to said at least one glass-ceramic layer and comprises a continuous skeletal network of said sintered metal particles contained with a glass-ceramic matrix formed from said glass-ceramic spheres, each said via body providing a conductive path.
 2. A process according to claim 1 in which the glass-ceramic composition of said at least one dielectric layer and that of said glass-ceramic spheres both comprise a cordierite-type glass having a similar thermal coefficient of expansion.
 3. A process according to claim 1 in which said via-fill composition is applied as a paste comprising a minor amount of an organic binder material, and the structure resulting after step (c) is initially heated in step (d) to a burn-off temperature below the glass transition temperature to burn-off said organic binder material prior to heating to the cosintering temperature.
 4. A process according to claim 1 in which said metal particles comprise spheres of said metal.
 5. A process according to claim 1 in which said metal comprises copper.
 6. A process according to claim 1 in which said metal comprises an alloy of copper and up to 2% by weight berrylium, having a TCE similar to the TCE of said ceramic material.
 7. A process according to claim 1 in which said metal comprises a mixture of copper and an iron-cobalt alloy having a TCE similar to the TCE of said ceramic material.
 8. A process according to claim 8 in which said iron-cobalt alloy is selected from the group consisting of Fe-31Ni-(4-6)Co, (36-37)Fe-(53-55)Co-(9-10)Cr, and 37Fe-30Ni-25Co-8Cr.
 9. A process for producing a multilayer ceramic circuit structure comprising the steps of:(a) forming at least two self-supporting layers of dielectric glass-ceramic composition having a low sintering temperature, below 1000° C.; (b) forming at least one vertical via hole through at least one of said layers; (c) filing said via hole(s) with a via-fill composition comprising a mixture of a major amount by volume of contacting spheres of glass-ceramic material having a substantially uniform average diameter which is less than about 10% of the diameter of said via hole(s), said spheres having a diameter which is between about 0.5 μm and 6 μm, and a minor amount by volume of particles of a low-resistive metal which have a maximum size less than about 1/3 the diameter of said glass-ceramic spheres and which fill the spaces between said contacting spheres and which have a melting temperature above the sintering temperature of said glass-ceramic composition; (d) applying a thin electrically-conductive body to the surface of said layer(s) containing said via hole(s) to provide communication between said conductive body and said via-fill composition; (e) forming a laminate of said layers having said conductive body confined therebetween; and (f) heating said laminated to a temperature above the glass transition temperature of the glass-ceramic composition of said layers and of said spheres but below about 1000° C., and below the melting point of said metal particles, to cosinter said glass-ceramic layers to form a multilayer ceramic circuit structure in which each via is filled with a conductive via body which is integrated with and hermetically sealed to said glass-ceramic layers and comprises a continuous skeletal network of said metal contained within a major amount by volume of glass-ceramic matrix formed from said glass-ceramic spheres, each said via body providing a conductive path between a surface of said structure and at least one said conductive body insulated between said layers.
 10. A process according to claim 9 in which the glass-ceramic composition of said dielectric layers and that of said glass-ceramic spheres both comprise a cordierite-type glass having a similar thermal coefficient of expansion.
 11. A process according to claim 9 in which said via-fill composition is applied as a paste comprising a minor amount of an organic binder material, and the laminate is initially heated in step (f) to a burn-off temperature below tile glass transition temperature to burn-off said organic binder material prior to heating to the cosintering temperature.
 12. A process according to claim 9 in which said metal particles comprise spheres of said metal.
 13. A process according to claim 9 in which said metal comprises copper.
 14. A process according to claim 9 in which said metal comprises an alloy of copper and up to 2% by weight beryllium, having a TCE similar to tile TCE of said ceramic material.
 15. A process according to claim 9 in which said metal comprises a mixture of copper and all iron-cobalt alloy having a TCE similar to the TCE of said ceramic material.
 16. A process according to claim 15 in which said iron-cobalt alloy is selected from the group consisting of Fe-31Ni-(4-5)Co, (36-37)Fe-(53-55)Co-(9-10)Cr, and Fe-30Ni-25Co-8Cr. 